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Natali Steinberg, docent of the Leonora Curtin Wetland Preserve, is offering her guided tour of this ecological treasure on Sunday, leaving from PEEC at noon.
This time of year is inviting for photographers and artists because the fall colors of the golden cottonwoods and scarlet sumac should be at their prime.
The Preserve closes for the winter on Oct. 31.

The Los Alamos Middle School cheerleaders have a tall order to fill this year. The athletic coordinator, Darren Jones, asked that the program “be designed as a sports marketing program to increase school spirit through increased attendance at athletic events and by making games a fun and energetic place to be that builds camaraderie.”
Since Jones’ request, the 2010-2011 cheerleaders, under the direction of Coach Denise Greene, have been busy trying to fulfill it.

Monster Movie Wednesdays at UNM-Los Alamos will feature “Psycho” at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the UNM-LA Lecture Hall in Bldg. 2. The movie is free and open to the public.
In “Psycho,” (1960, 109 min., R) Alfred Hitchcock, the grandfather of the slasher films of the 1980s and 90s, uses shadows and suggestion to prey upon our primal fear. Star Anthony Perkins’ portrayal of the deeply disturbed Norman Bates and the famous shower scene, have become iconic moments in American cinema.

Enrollment for the University of New Mexico-Los Alamos engineering program is up, with 40 incoming freshmen declaring engineering as their chosen program.
Program Coordinator Oksana Gerlits and Cindy Leyba of the UNM-LA site of the Bachelor and Graduate Program through Extended University have worked closely with the Engineering Department at UNM Albuquerque to make sure course offerings are available for students who want to do bachelor’s-level work in engineering on the UNM-LA campus.

Los Alamos Middle School seventh graders will participate in Discover New Mexico Interdisciplinary study day on Thursday.
The interactive and hands-on workshops will be presented from 8 a.m.-2:40 p.m., with a New Mexico theme.
Presenters from around the state will involve students in interactive and hands-on workshops exploring New Mexico history, arts, culture, science and math.
Some of the scheduled math and science topics will include information regarding ongoing research and development at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The Santa Fe Opera joins more than 100 opera companies across the country in recognizing National Opera Week.
Organized by opera’s national service organization, Opera America, community events have been planned to call attention to the role opera companies play in their communities. The week runs from
Oct. 29-Nov. 6.

Don Liska is unquestionably one of the Los Alamos Mountaineers most experienced mountaineers and adventurers.
He has been a member of the American Alpine Club for many years, and is a lifetime member of the LAM. Join the LAM Wednesday evening at Fuller Lodge to hear Liska recount stories of his early days of adventure climbing in the Midwest, the Dolomites and the Alps.

The golden trees on the Jemez and Sangre de Cristo mountains have inspired the Los Alamos Historical Society to sponsor a fall and summer photo contest. Winners will have their photographs made into greeting cards and added to the Los Alamos Historical Museum archival collection.

It is an amazing time when your baby turns one year old and you can see the growth and potential of what is still yet to come.
Last month, the Cancer Corner at Los Alamos Medical Center celebrated their first birthday, and because the month of October is Cancer Awareness month, they plan to celebrate all month long.
Bernice Williams, the president of the Los Alamos Council on Cancer and a devoted Cancer Corner supporter, couldn’t be more proud.

The Los Alamos Animal Shelter, 226 East Road, 662-8179, has a great selection of on-site adoptable pets; others are in foster care with loving, temporary homes.
All of our fully reconditioned adoptable pets are spayed or neutered, have their shots and are micro-chipped.
Be sure to check out links to our many pets at the Friends of the Shelter Web site: www.lafos.org. You can also volunteer or make a donation.

The Los Alamos Piecemakers Quilt Guild is hosting Cindy Brick, from Castle Rock, Colo. at
7 p.m. Oct. 26 at the White Rock Baptist Church. She will present a lecture titled, “The Incredible Crazy.”
Brick is a national lecturer and quilting teacher, quilt restorer, author and an expert on old quilts and quilt history, including crazy quilts. She is an American Quilter’s Society certified textile appraiser, a professional quilt judge and the author of six books, including the “Fabric Dating Kit.”

The 13th annual CROP Hunger Walk/Turkey Trot, a 2.57 mile fun walk/run, will be the Sunday before Thanksgiving, at 2 p.m. Nov. 21 at the middle school.
The CROP Walk donates 25 percent of its funds to LA Cares, which provides food to local families in need. The other 75 percent of funds raised go toward national and international poverty and hunger-reducing programs, to make positive improvements at life-changing levels.

Fall is officially here and that means it’s time for Piñon Elementary’s Annual Pumpkin Patch.
This year’s Pumpkin Patch will be from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 23. This is Piñon Parent Teacher Organization’s fifth year of hosting the community event.
“The Pumpkin Patch grows a little bit bigger and more exciting every year and this looks to be our best year yet,” said Kelly Benner, president of the Pumpkin Patch committee.

Don Casperson, a retired physicist with an outstanding dedication to community service, has been chosen as the Los Alamos Kiwanian of the Year for 2010.
His selection, announced at the close of the Oct. 3 Kiwanis installation banquet at the Masonic Temple, caught Casperson by surprise — but the long list of projects in which he had been involved made the choice logical to everyone else.
Casperson is originally from Boston and came to Los Alamos in the fall of 1973, as a graduate student in physics with a Yale experimental group.

Since Los Alamos’s nature center chose the name Pajarito Environmental Education Center, punsters realized that the center needed to celebrate with an annual PEECnic. This year the celebration is from 1-3 p.m. Sunday at 3540 Orange Street and the community is invited.
Park Flight interns, Andrés Felipe Peña Monroy, from Medellín, Colombia and Laila Yunes Jiménez, from Mexico City, will give a photo presentation called “Flying with Birds in Mexico and Colombia.”

Sage Cottage preschool received a $10,000 grant from the United Way of Northern New Mexico to support the Children Youth and Families Department low-income families with childcare and preschool education.
This grant allows parents and guardians to work and pursue continuing education while knowing their children are being well cared for and provided with a unique combination of Montessori, play- and science-based education.
Sage Cottage is grateful to the United Way Board for entrusting them with this grant.

Habitat for Humanity of the Española Valley and Los Alamos, Inc. in Partnership with Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Los Alamos, is unable to receive applications for home repair through its Building Kindness Program at this time.
Due to an overwhelming need for home repairs and receipt of applications, the application process must be closed for a period of six months. Building Kindness looks forward to serving the community.
For more information call the Habitat for Humanity at 505-747-2690.

Monster Movie Wednesdays at UNM-Los Alamos will feature “The Invisible Man” (1933, 71 minutes, NR) at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the UNM-LA Lecture Hall in Bldg. 2. The movie is free and open to the public.
Based on H.G. Wells’ novel, the film is directed by James Whale of “Frankenstein” fame and stars Claude Rains as a “mad scientist” who discovers a drug that turns him invisible.
The iconic figure covered in bandages and wearing sunglasses, finds the drug also compels him to commit unspeakable acts.

Anticipation weighed heavily on three girls from Los Alamos on Aug 28. Annija Westfall, Marija Westfall and Sarah Hutchens clutched their Build A Bear stuffed animals as they listened to the announcer call their names as contestants for the national qualifying round in the New Mexico Bible Bee, held in Los Alamos.
The girls competed in the 7-18 year old category and spent their summer memorizing and comprehending 250-800 Bible verses, Greek words and the entire Book of the Colossians.